Collegiata dei Ss. Michele e Giovanni Battista

The Collegiate Church of Saints Michael and John the Baptist is Brisighella's principal church, preserving Baroque architecture and paintings from the Renaissance to the seventeenth century.

Why it matters

The church succeeded the Pieve del Tho as the religious centre of the town. Its seventeenth-century structure and later artistic additions bring together local devotion, civic patronage and paintings gathered from churches in the surrounding area. Its title preserves the dedication to both Saint Michael and Saint John the Baptist.

What to notice

The bronze portal was designed by Faenza architect Antonio Savioli and sculpted by Angelo Biancini. The high altar holds an image of Saint Michael the Archangel based on the Guido Reni composition. A Madonna delle Grazie attributed to Mengarelli and dated 1410 is the oldest image in the church. Other works include a sixteenth-century wooden crucifix, Bernardino da Tossignano's 1530 Annunciation and a lunette of Christ among the Doctors by Marco Palmezzano. The two bell towers once flanking the facade were demolished after the 1781 earthquake.

Context and history

Architect Gherardo Silvagni of Florence designed the church in the second half of the seventeenth century; it opened for worship in 1700. The 1781 earthquake damaged the building and led to the removal of its twin bell towers. The bronze portal was added in the twentieth century. The collegiate church took over functions from the Pieve di San Giovanni in Ottavo and forms part of Brisighella's wider religious landscape with San Francesco and the Monticino sanctuary.